Golden Eagles Announce 2007-08 Schedule

Marquette Athletics

09/05/2007

Milwaukee – A record number of television appearances and the possibility of matchups with 12 postseason participants from last year highlight another exciting schedule for the Marquette University men's basketball in 2007-08.

Golden Eagles Announce 2007-08 Schedule

MU To Make Record Number Of TV Appearances; Marquette Madness On Oct. 13

Milwaukee – A record number of television appearances and the possibility of matchups with 12 postseason participants from last year highlight another exciting schedule for the Marquette University men's basketball in 2007-08.

The newly signed television contract between the BIG EAST and ESPN, Inc., is the best in college basketball and as a result Marquette will have a record number of its games broadcast on a national level (at least 11 total). MU's expansive local package will be announced in the coming weeks, meaning nearly every regular season game will be available on television.

The Golden Eagles will host "Marquette Madness," a showcase of the team for the Marquette faithful, on Saturday, Oct. 13 at the Al McGuire Center. The evening's festivities include; giveaways, promotions, contests, team introduction and scrimmage and much more. Fans can visit GoMarquette.com as the event approaches for more information.

Season ticket and mini-plan packages are currently available. For more information those interested should call 414-288-GOMU or visit GoMarquette.com.

"One of the best ways to evaluate the importance of our affiliation with the BIG EAST is to look at the schedule," head coach Tom Crean said. "Playing the best programs in the nation on a nightly basis provides for a tremendous home schedule and the league's television contract with ESPN creates a substantial amount of exposure. Almost every night of the week a BIG EAST team will be playing on national television and fortunately Marquette will be involved in a record number of those games."

Following an exhibition matchup against Northern State on Nov. 4, Marquette will open the regular season against IUPUI on Nov. 10 at the Bradley Center. The matchup with the Jaguars replaces the traditional scheduling of the Pepsi Blue & Gold Classic.

"In late August, Maine de-committed on a summer-long agreement and informed us they weren't going to participate in the classic," Deputy Athletic Director Mike Broeker said. "Despite our best efforts and after exploring all options, we were unable to find a team this late in the summer requiring two games, leaving us with no option but to suspend the tournament for this year.

"Scheduling has changed dramatically over the last few years with new multi-game, non-exempt tournaments popping up each season, making traditional two-game classic tournaments like ours very difficult to fill," Broeker said. "Long term we'll need to assess whether it's in our best interest to continue the tournament in its existing format. We are disappointed in the outcome but would like to publicly thank Florida Gulf Coast and IUPUI for honoring their commitments and working with us on a solution," Broeker added.

The tip-off luncheon on Friday, Nov. 9 will continue as planned, featuring the coaching staff and team.

"We are really disappointed to not be hosting the tournament this year," Crean said. "As a team, we were looking forward to the opportunity to reclaim the event's championship."

A first-ever meeting with Utah Valley State comes Nov. 12 before the team hits the road for the first time to compete in the 2007 EA Sports Maui Invitational. The Golden Eagles will face host Chaminade in the event's opening game before taking on Oklahoma State or LSU based on the day one results. Also competing in the eight-team field is Duke, Arizona State, Princeton and Illinois.

"This tournament is one of the elite events in the country and we are excited to be a part of it this season," Crean said. "The field is tremendous and it will be a good test for the team early in the season and help us prepare for another challenging year in the BIG EAST."

After returning from Hawaii, MU will have over a week to prepare for a pair of instate matchups. The squad hosts neighboring UW-Milwaukee on Nov. 30 before traveling to Wisconsin for a non-conference tilt on Dec. 8. The Golden Eagles will face the Panthers for the first time since the 1998-99 campaign.

Dec. 15 against Sacramento State marks the beginning of a season-long five game homestand that concludes with the BIG EAST opener Jan. 3 versus Providence at the Bradley Center. Also included during that time frame are games against IPFW (Dec. 17), Coppin State (Dec. 21) and Savannah State (Dec. 29).

The league lidlifter against the Friars marks the debut of the new 18-game conference schedule. The Golden Eagles will face each of the other 15 teams at least once and participate in home-and-home series with Notre Dame, Louisville and Seton Hall.

The Golden Eagles will play three of their first four league dates in Milwaukee, hosting Seton Hall (Jan. 8) and Notre Dame (Jan. 12) following a road trip to West Virginia (Jan. 5). The matchup with the Mountaineers is slated for a Saturday afternoon and will be available on ESPN2.

Louisville returns to the Bradley Center in front of another national television audience for a "Big Monday" appearance. The matchup with the Panthers comes on a Friday night and will be broadcast on ESPN. The final league home game features a showdown with the Hoyas on a Saturday afternoon, which will mark Marquette's first contest of the campaign on CBS.

MU will wrap up the home portion of its regular season schedule on March 4 against Florida Gulf Coast.